well, all horses here are used to salt blocks. We have salt block
with all ingredients specially made for horses. Nobody here is using loose
salts.The salt blocks from Himalaya (a lot more expensive) are attracting my
horses a lot. Can you get them in the USA too ?
Recurring subject,
funny :-) A horse having access to good forage and a salt block doesn't
need additional electrolytes. A good conditioning and preparation to the
events is by far better than any supplementation. But all of us, we learned that
by trial and errors. I remember that I was - like Steph - using EL
agressively some time ago. Leonard, www.endurance-belgium.com
I
want to heartily second what Heidi has said here!! While horses can
and do develop electrolyte deficiencies in our
sport, the most common metabolic problems are
exhaustion (lack of energy) and dehydration. And
often the reason a horse quits eating is because of exhaustion -
when energy is low and muscles fatigue, blood is
shunted to the muscles, at the expense of the
stomach and intestines and the gut will 'shut
down'. Administering electrolyte drenches to a horse that 'seems tired' and is actually dehydrated can be very damaging,
especially if the horse is not eating or
drinking well. If you are new to the sport, learn
about your horse gradually - and with fitness
and experience you will develop a better feeling for your horse's capability and needs. If a horse stops eating during
a ride it means (to me) either the horse is
uncomfortable or he was ridden too
hard/fast. Steph On
Apr 29, 2008, at 10:47 AM, heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: >> It was pointed out to me at the last ride (my first!
*grin*) that >> the horse needs it's
electrolytes replenished when doing long >> distances, especially in warm weather. I already knew
this.
